Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

Brenna and Joe venture to Canada's Northern Territories to spend time with Richard Van Camp's lyrical and melancholy 1996 novel The Lesser Blessed and Anita Dorin's 2012 film adaptation. This is an extremely heavy, but ultimately rewarding pair of texts that merit the extra-long run time (fun fact: when Brenna teaches the book, it takes her three weeks to unpack!)

Brenna goes into much-needed teacher-mode to elaborate on the background of Residential schools, one of Canada's most shameful historical events, which is essential for understanding the book's exploration of trauma and pain. Joe, meanwhile, makes a shocking discovery in a review of the film from the time of its release and the pair celebrate the book's willingness to tackle challenging material. It's not an easy read, but it is vital.

Other Contemporary Indigenous text recommendations: The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King.

In homework: Brenna recommends The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo while Joe opts for Raziel Reid's Heathers-inspired book, Kens, after its recommendation by a listener!

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brenna and Joe stumble into a fairy tale world that compels them to do everything they're told...so long as it's compare Gale Carson Levine's 1997 Ella Enchanted and Tommy O'Haver's over-the-top wacky 2004 adaptation, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this week!

The book proves to be a good example of how straightforward and non-subversive books for young adults were in the 90s, while the film makes good use of a game Anne Hathaway's capacity for physical comedy, but goes over board on extra characters and bad CGI. Plus: come for the discussion about misused WOC and stay for the jokes about how uncomfortable Hugh Dancy looks!

In homework: Brenna recommends unreliable narrator book A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa B. Sheinmel while Joe has high hopes for Kai Cheng Thom's Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir.

Other Trans and Non-Binary YA Lit recommendations: If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo Girl Mans Up by M.E. Girard

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brenna and Joe venture deep into the Greendale woods to perform a dark ceremony in advance of Brenna's birthday and they're joined by a very special guest: Emily von Seele! The three unpack the gorgeous art and risky narrative in Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's 60s-set dark reboot of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and contrast it with the more risk-adverse 2018 Netflix adaptation - just in time for its return on April 5.

Along the way Brenna wonders why the goat masks in both Sabrina and its companion series Riverdale mean completely different things, Joe vents about the series' aesthetic choices (enough with the Vaseline Iris!) and the three lament the series' antiquated approach to feminist storylines and bland milquetoast boyfriend while praising its liberated "bad girls": Prudence and Madame Satan.

In homework: Joe is dismayed to learn that the new Noah Centineo Netflix movie The Perfect Date (April 12) is based on a YA book and Brenna makes a special birthday plea to listeners.

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote
• Emily: @horrorellablog

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Break out your black tights and your pink hair because Brenna and Joe are headed into the Dauntless Pit with Veronica Roth's 2011 bestseller Divergent and the Neil Burger-helmed 2014 adaptation. Both hosts have mixed feelings, contrasting their initial enjoyment of the texts back in the day with the more complicated, less fun reading of both in a post-Trump, anti-intellectual world. It's not all doom and gloom, though: it turns out Brenna's brother and Joe's husband have nearly identical reactions to the film, Brenna gets far too much pleasure whispering the titular term and the episode ends with a SHOCKING revelation that Brenna has been keeping from Joe for the entirety of their friendship!

References:
Hudson, Laura. "The Divergent Movie Is Social Commentary for Simpletons". Wired: https://www.wired.com/2014/03/divergent-review-online-quiz/

In homework: Brenna rediscovers Marvel's rebranded Runaways written by Rainbow Rowell and drawn by Kris Anka, while Joe checks out Becky Albertalli's bestie, Adam Silvera's They Both Die At The End.

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After several weeks of...challenging texts, Brenna and Joe dive into the warm comfort of Becky Albertalli's 2015 Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda and Greg Berlanti's 2018 adaptation Love, Simon. The pair break down the book's great writing, problematize the film's depiction of Leah and Ethan and praise what may be the best, most supportive parents in YA.

It's a bit of a gush fest, honestly.

Plus: Brenna doubles down on Albertalli with a discussion of Simon's sequel/spin-off, Leah On The Offbeat while Joe softly recommends the new Sick Kid film, Five Feet Apart, starring Haley Lu Richardson and Riverdale's Cole Sprouse.

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hold onto your Old Tech because Brenna and Joe are on the run from London and the other Traction Cities as they tackle Phillip Reeves' 2001 novel Mortal Engines, as well as 2018's significantly less interesting film adaptation by Christian Rivers. The text has fascinating colonialist and caste implications that are mostly abandoned in the film, in favour of pretty CW-styled actors and a really bad hairpiece by Hugo Weaving's villain. Come for the discussion about the impressive visual rendering of Municipal Darwinism and stay for Joe's invention of a brand new Harry Potter pre-quel franchise.

Oh, also, this podcast is not dedicated exclusively to Robert Sheehan.

Plus, in the News segment: Brenna strongly recommends the Netflix series One Day At A Time, as well as Ben Filippe’s The Field Guide to the North American Teenager while Joe preps for the latest Canadian YA author interview with Tanaz Bhathena’s The Beauty Of The Moment.

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After several weeks of dystopian and urban fantasy, Brenna and Joe travel back in time to the 1980s and the Iranian Revolution for a deep dive in Marjane Satrapi's award-winning comics & animated film, Persepolis.

Brenna touches on a vital lesson in semantics re: the classification of the text as a comic vs graphic novel (and why the distinction is so important). We also address the cyclical nature of the two volumes, the melancholy implications of the text’s ending and the universality of Satrapi’s sparse visual style, which is so effective at drawing audiences in.

Plus: Brenna pitches Joe on Jacqueline Woodson's Harbour Me and Joe discovers (after the fact) a potential future Chapter in Dan Wells' I am Not A Serial Killer (aka Jr. Dexter).

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mundanes Brenna and Joe muddle their way through a three for one as they tackle Cassandra Clare’s 2007 urban fantasy novel The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, the CGI atrocity that is the 2013 film adaptation and the 2016 Freeform TV adaptation, Shadowhunters (which they declare the best version of the story).

Expect A LOT of sighs, guffaws and questions as the pair address the book's generic narrative and love triangle, Clary Fray's lack of agency in the climax and the film's failures in set design, special effects and acting. Perhaps the best thing to come out of this week’s adventure is the concept of an Idris Elba World?

Plus: Brenna advocates for Angie Thomas’ new book, On The Come Up while Joe pitches David K Yeh's A Boy At The Edge Of The World.

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

Brenna: @brennacgray
Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part of HKHSPod's mandate is to highlight the work of Canadian YA Lit writers. In this exclusive interview, Brenna and Joe are joined by Steven Bereznai to discuss his bestselling books, why superhero narratives are so appealing to gay men, and which former Teen Wolf stars should begin preparing for a cinematic adaptation of 'I Want Superpowers.'

Find out more about Steven's work on his website: https://stevenbereznai.com or on Twitter at @stevenbereznai

Connect with the show on Twitter using #HKHSPod:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Strap on your space gear and take off your shoes because Joe and Brenna are tackling The Umbrella Academy, Netflix's latest TV adaptation, which is based on the first two volumes of the mega successful comics by Gerard Way (of the band My Chemical Romance) and artist Gabriel Bá.

Join the pair as they attempt to unpack the generic apocalyptic threat and similarly drawn characters, discuss why sometimes you should begin with Volume two instead of one and heap praise the show's fun, evocative dance sequence set to a classic 80s tune. Just be warned: if you prefer to stay completely spoiler free, you may need to delay listening to this episode until you're caught up on S1!

Plus: In an important extended news segment, Brenna and Joe unpack the recent racist Bookseller article about falling YA book sales and challenge the "youth" reading habits reported in Chris McCrudden's Twitter thread (https://twitter.com/cmccrudden/status/1093874037460226049). Special thanks to Hannah McGregor, friend of the show and host of Secret Feminist Agenda podcast, for flagging this

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.